Princess Diana’s ghost made her debut on the final season of “The Crown” — as promised by creator Peter Morgan.
The first four episodes of the sixth season premiered on Netflix Thursday, and viewers are scratching their heads over the questionable scene showing the phantom of Diana (played by Elizabeth Debicki).
The Princess of Wales died alongside her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed, in a car crash on Aug, 31, 1997. She was 36.
While Part 1 of the show features the death scene (but not the crash itself), both Dodi’s and Diana’s spirits return to on-screen speak to their loved ones following the event.
In the appropriately titled fourth episode, “Aftermath,” the aftereffects of the two dying is played out.
Warning: Spoilers for Season 6 of “The Crown” below.
Between the time of the Paris crash and Diana’s funeral at Westminster Abbey a week later, there are three separate instances when her or Dodi’s spirit appears.
As then-Prince Charles (Dominic West) flies to France to retrieve Diana’s body, he contemplates the loss on a plane.
“Paris,” he says. “One of the busiest cities in the world, and you brought it to a standstill.”
“Ta-da!” Diana giggles as she appears next to him in the adjoining chair.
“You were always the most beloved out of all of us,” Charles admits.
She replies: “Thank you for how you were in the hospital. So raw, broken. And handsome. I’ll take that with me. You know I loved you so much. So deeply. So painfully too. That’s over now. Be easier for everyone when I’m gone.”
“No, it won’t,” Charles says softly, tearfully explaining that he feels regret after her passing.
In another scene, Dodi’s father, Mohamed al-Fayed (Salim Daw), sits in his office bawling over his son’s death.
Dodi’s spirit then emerges beside him, and the pair speak in Arabic as Mohamed wonders why the royal family despises him. Mohamed also inquires why Dodi’s name has not been mentioned in the papers alongside Diana’s.
“It’s as if only one person died,” Mohamed sobs. But his son assures him that cities across the Arab world such as Cairo and Beirut called him a “hero.” The statement brings a little streak of joy to Mohamed and he smiles.
But then Dodi disappears into thin air, and Mohamed cries out: “No, please don’t leave me.”
Lastly, toward the end of the episode, Diana pops up next to Queen Elizabeth II (Imelda Staunton) on her couch as the monarch watches news coverage of Diana’s death.
Diana’s apparition takes Elizabeth’s hand. “I hope you’re happy now. You’ve finally succeeded in turning me and this house upside,” the queen sighs.
“That was never my intention,” Diana responds.
“Look at what you’ve started,” the sovereign states. “A revolution.” The princess then points to the TV and explains that “the people are just trying to show you who they are. What they need.”
As the queen’s eyes begin to water, Diana tells her that the crowds may seem “terrifying,” but that they “don’t need to be.”
“You’ve taught us what it means to be British. Maybe it’s time to show that you’re ready to learn too,” Diana notes.
Diana’s ghost does not, however, share the screen with Prince William (Rufus Kampa) or Prince Harry (Fflyn Edwards) in the episode.
Fans and critics have since roasted the ghost scenes on social media.
“I spent much of the first half of this week watching the new series of ‘The Crown’ to see whether it’s got any basis in reality. By the time Diana’s ghost appears I decided the answer is ‘not a lot,’” one person wrote.
A second person savagely wondered: “‘The Crown’s writing fell off so hard in S6 that I kid you not, after Diana dies, Diana’s ghost appears out of nowhere and tells Elizabeth that ‘you taught us how to be British, now it’s your time to learn too.’ Why did I ever like this show?”
Morgan told Variety last month that Diana’s ghost would appear. “I never imagined it as Diana’s ‘ghost’ in the traditional sense,” he said. “It was her continuing to live vividly in the minds of those she has left behind.”
The director of “The Queen” added: “Diana was unique, and I suppose that’s what inspired me to find a unique way of representing her. She deserved special treatment narratively.”
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